IFPI has today released the Music Consumer Insight Report 2016 - a global report which IFPI commissioned from Ipsos Connect to examine the behaviour of music consumers across 13 of the world’s leading music markets.

The research contains key findings on changing consumer behaviour and provides valuable insights on the "value gap", the music industry’s most pressing priority which is currently the focus of policy makers in Europe.

Key report highlights:

Paid audio streaming is growing: 71 per cent of internet users aged 16-64 access licensed music. Paid audio streaming services are growing in popularity, especially among under 25s. One-third of 16-24 year olds now pay for an audio streaming service.

YouTube is the most used music service: 82 per cent of all YouTube visitors use it for music. More people use YouTube to consume music they already know than to discover new content.

Copyright infringement remains a significant problem: more than one-third (35 per cent) of internet users access unlicensed music content. Infringement is changing, with half (49 per cent) of 16-24 year olds using stream ripping services to download music.

Young people are highly engaged with music, with 82 per cent of 13-15 year-olds listening to licensed music and the majority willing to pay for music.

Smartphones are moving towards replacing computers as the most used device for music consumption, especially in developing countries. Users of paid audio streaming services are particularly likely to listen to music on a smartphone

Commenting on the report, Frances Moore, CEO, IFPI said:

"There are many positives for the music industry in this research: streaming services have revolutionised the experience of the music consumer, with growing numbers paying for audio streaming services; listeners are responding to the benefits offered by on-the-go, on-demand access to music by moving more and more to the world of mobile, especially in emerging markets; and young fans are showing passion and engagement with music.

"Record companies, and the investment they make in music, are at the heart of this change. That investment is all the more important in the digital world, driving the creation of new music and helping artists connect with their fans.

"There are also key insights informing the policy debate on music’s "value gap", the biggest problem for today’s music sector. The research highlights the dominant position amongst music services of YouTube, as well as the fact that the site is used by consumers primarily to access music they know, on-demand. Yet YouTube can get away without remunerating fairly artists and producers by hiding behind ‘safe harbour’ laws that were never designed for services that actively engage with and make available music enjoyed by the vast majority of its users."